Israel’s Eurovision contestant says she remains undeterred after getting booed during a dress rehearsal on Wednesday.
Eden Golan was performing her song Hurricane ahead of the singing competition’s semi-final in Malmo, Sweden on Thursday.
Videos emerged on social media of noisy disapproving audience members who filmed themselves booing the 20-year-old singer while she was on stage.
In a statement following the incident, Golan said she was “proud” to represent Israel, “particularly this year” adding “I am receiving support and love and I am determined to give my best performance tomorrow in the semi-finals and nothing will deter me from that goal!”
Israel’s Kan broadcaster, which coordinates the country’s participation in the contest, said: “[The crowd] did not silence her and they will not silence us. See you tomorrow.”
On Thursday, Kan wrote to the European Broadcasting Union and SVT, Sweden’s public broadcaster, to request they work to prevent a repeat of the incident and ensure they allow Israel to compete fairly in tonight’s semi-final.
crowd reaction to israel. pic.twitter.com/4XWgFgjkpK
— jay🍉 | 🇳🇱🇱🇹🇪🇪 (@kaarijay) May 8, 2024
Eurovision organisers said they are expecting political protests in Malmo, a coastal city in Sweden’s south close to Copenhagen, with extra police being brought in from Denmark and Norway.
Speaking to the JC this week, Golan admitted she was “overwhelmed by different emotions” by being one of the most controversial contestants in the competition’s history.
Despite being advised by Israel’s Shin Bet security agency to stay in her hotel room, she did make a surprise appearance to join Malmo’s small Jewish community to mark Yom HaShoah, and said she was “looking forward to seeing the audience and feeling their energy” despite death threats made to the Israeli delegation and calls for viewers to boycott Eurovision this year.
